[House Report 104-759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-759
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                    APACHE NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA

                                _______
                                

 September 4, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3547]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3547) to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of real 
property in the Apache National Forest in the State of Arizona 
to the Alpine Elementary School District 7 to be used for the 
construction of school facilities and related playing fields, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, APACHE NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA.

  (a) Conveyance Required.--(1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
convey, without consideration, to the Alpine Elementary School District 
7 of the State of Arizona (in this section referred to as the ``School 
District''), all right, title, and interest of the United States in and 
to a parcel of real property, including any improvements thereon, 
consisting of approximately 30 acres located in the Apache National 
Forest, Apache County, Arizona, and further delineated as follows: 
North \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ of Southeast \1/4\ of section 14, 
Township 5 North, Range 30 East, Gila and Salt River meridian, and 
North \1/2\ of South \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ of Southeast \1/4\ of 
such section.
  (2) The exact acreage and legal description of the real property to 
be conveyed under paragraph (1) shall be determined by a survey 
satisfactory to the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne by 
the School District.
  (b) Condition of Conveyance.--The conveyance made under subsection 
(a) shall be subject to the condition that the School District use the 
conveyed property for public school facilities and related public 
school recreational purposes.
  (c) Right of Reentry.--The United States shall retain a right of 
reentry in the property to be conveyed. If the Secretary determines 
that the conveyed property is not being used in accordance with the 
condition in subsection (b), the United States shall have the right to 
reenter the conveyed property without consideration.
  (d) Encumbrances.--The conveyance made under subsection (a) shall be 
subject to all encumbrances on the property existing as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
  (e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may require such 
additional terms and conditions in connection with the conveyance under 
subsection (a) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the 
interests of the United States.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3547 is to provide for the conveyance 
of a parcel of real property in the Apache National Forest in 
the State of Arizona to the Alpine Elementary School District 7 
to be used for the construction of school facilities and 
related public school recreation facilities.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3547 would convey approximately 30 acres of land on 
the Apache National Forest in Apache County, Arizona, to the 
Alpine Elementary School District. The school district needs 
the land to construct school facilities and related playing 
fields. The Forest Service has the authority under the Townsite 
Act of 1958 to sell the acreage to the school district because 
no private lands exist for purchase. The school district is 
willing to purchase the lands; however, at $7,500 per acre the 
cost is prohibitive.
    Eighty-five percent of Apache County is federally-
controlled land. As a result, school district budgets rely 
heavily on proceeds from national forest timber harvests. 
Unfortunately, appeals and litigation have halted all logging 
in Arizona, and as a result the Alpine Elementary School 
District's revenues have fallen sharply. Without this 
conveyance, they would not be able to afford to construct any 
facilities after acquiring the land.
    H.R. 3547 stipulates that the land may only be used for 
school facilities. In addition, the school district will bear 
the costs of performing a survey to determine the exact acreage 
and legal description of the property.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3547 was introduced on May 29, 1996, by Congressman 
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Forests and Lands. On June 6, 1996, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 3547, where the 
Administration testified in support of the objectives, but 
recommended changes to the details of the bill. On June 27, 
1996, the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 3547. An amendment 
to revise the acreage description and to retain a reversionary 
interest and mineral rights for the Federal Government was 
offered by Congressman Hayworth and adopted by voice vote. The 
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee. 
On August 1, 1996, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 
H.R. 3547. An amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
specify the location of the property, delete the mineral 
rights, and change the reversionary right to a right of re-
entry was offered by Congressman John T. Doolittle (R-CA), and 
adopted by voice vote. The bill as amended was then ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice 
vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Land conveyance, Apache National Forest, Arizona

    This section would convey land in the Apache National 
Forest in Apache County, Arizona, without consideration to the 
Alpine Elementary School District for public school facilities 
and related recreational purposes. It describes the condition 
of conveyance and encumbrances, a description of the property, 
and additional terms and conditions.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                     INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 3547 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        COST OF THE LEGISLATION

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 3547. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
3547 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. Enacting H.R. 3547 could reduce offsetting 
receipts to the Federal Government by as much as $250,000.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3547.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 
3547 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 8, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 3547, a bill to provide for the conveyance of a 
parcel of real property in the Apache National Forest in the 
state of Arizona to the Alphine Elementary School District 7 to 
be used for the construction of school facilities and related 
playing fields. The bill was ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Resources on August 1, 1996. Based on information 
from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3547 
could reduce offsetting receipts by as much as $250,000. 
Because the bill could affect direct spending by reducing 
offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
    H.R. 3547 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey about 30 acres of federal land in the Apache National 
Forest to the Alpine Elementary School District 7. The school 
district would pay for a survey to determine the exact acreage 
and legal description of the real property to be conveyed. If 
this property is not conveyed to the school district, CBO 
expects that the Forest Service would either exchange the land 
for other lands of equal value or attempt to sell it at fair 
market value. If the property were otherwise sold, enacting 
H.R. 3547 would lead the government to forgo sale receipts 
totaling not more than $250,000.
    H.R. 3547 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4) and would impose no significant costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The staff contacts are Victoria V. 
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state, 
local, and tribal impact).
            Sincerely,
                                              James L. Blum
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

     H.R. 3547 contains no unfunded mandates.

                         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

     If enacted, H.R. 3547 would make no changes in existing 
law.